Gilroy – This was one of those times that the San Benito boys basketball team wished it had a mulligan. A slow start bred into a lackluster showing as the Haybalers fell to Monterey 61-40 in the opening round of the Bob Hagen Memorial Tournament.
After taking Monterey to overtime before falling by two points in their season opener on Nov. 29, the ‘Balers were no match for the Toreadors yesterday. San Benito faced a seven-point deficit at halftime and it only ballooned from there. Monterey raced to a 17-point lead midway through the third quarter and led by as many as 23 points.
“I thought Monterey just took it to us today,” said ‘Balers head coach John Becerra, whose team fell to 3-6 on the year. “That was not one of our best games. We just didn’t come up with the enthusiasm that we normally have.”
“An off game,” said San Benito center Dean Wilkins, who scored six points, all in the first half. “A real off game. Last game [against Monterey], we were hustling and we were more intense.”
The Toreadors were buoyed by having their star, Micheal Phillips, at full strength. Phillips, the quarterback on Monterey’s football team, had only one basketball practice under his belt before facing San Benito last month. With his sea legs under him, the 6-2 senior controlled the action on both ends of the floor, slashing to the hoop for many of his 14 points and frustrating the ‘Balers’ ballhandlers with three steals.
Toreadors senior Antony Frank scored a game-high 19 points as Monterey improved its record to 6-3.
“We just played a lot better today,” said Monterey head coach Greg Daniels, whose team advanced to face Aptos in the semifinals today at 6:30. “Last game, we let them jump out on us. We had no energy. Our energy was a lot better today. I think that was the biggest thing.”
“[Phillips] was breaking it down,” said San Benito senior Vince Bautista, “but we lacked on defense. We didn’t play as a team.”
Turnovers on five consecutive possessions bridging the first two quarters put the ‘Balers in an early 14-6 hole, but they rallied to climb within 16-13 after forward Kevin Burley converted a three-point play.
But an 11-1 third-quarter run put Monterey in cruise control and left San Benito to ponder what went wrong.
“We didn’t play that well and we know it,” said Burley, who finished with six points and six rebounds.
Becerra detailed what he saw missing from the bench.
“[We] weren’t moving quickly and efficiently on our offense,” said Becerra. “We were [playing] at the wrong pace and in the wrong spots. It just wasn’t a very team-oriented offense today.”
Bautista posted team highs of nine points, five steals and four assists, while nine different ‘Balers got in the scoring column.
With the loss, San Benito slid into the consolation bracket of the tournament, where it faces TCAL rival Live Oak today at 3:30. The Acorns led Aptos throughout, but fell victim to a fourth-quarter slide and lost their opener 52-47 yesterday.
Becerra was happy his team has the opportunity to quickly atone for its disheartening loss.
“This game is over,” said Becerra. “[Today], we’ll come out with a new attitude and a new determination. We’ll see what happens.”
SAN BENITO (40)
Bautista 4 0-0 9, Burley 2 2-3 6, Wilkins 3 0-0 6, Baladad 3 0-0 6, Janisch 2 1-2 5, Lee 1 0-0 2, Lopez 1 0-0 2, Medeiros 1 0-0 2, Ramos 1 0-0 2, Ruiz 0 0-1 0. Totals 18 3-6 40.
MONTEREY (61)
Frank 8 3-4 19, Phillips 6 2-4 14, Jones 3 3-7 11, Elder 2 0-0 5, Wiley 1 0-0 3, Poma 1 0-2 2, Russo 1 0-0 2, Killogh 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 11-21 61.
Three pointers; San Benito (1) Bautista; Monterey (4) Jones 2, Edler, Wiley.
